Being Alexus

Im greatly vexed

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 05:44:09 GMT

I have no comment about how long its been since I last blogged here. I have no excuse except for a zillion of them but no matter.

My brain is full, so here we find ourselves again, dont we?

Its been a brutal Winter so far. Lots of snow and ice, even more than usual. In December and January we liked it because it made us feel cozy. Now it is merely a nuisance and keeps us in doors when we want to be out. The snow is piled high along the side of the roads and has turned an ugly brownish gray color and we look at it as we drive by and only wish it were gone. We have no lingering memories of its beauty. Its funny how quickly it turned for us. We are fickle beings, arent we? It reminds me of our Christmas tree. It was a tall, lovely tree, decorated with sparkly lights and hand placed decorations and we sat in front of the fire and admired it almost every night. But there was a day when I pulled into the drive and saw the tree lying by the side of the curb, covered in snow and turning brown and it made me feel sad at how quickly things change. I dont even remember when it happened, but it did and Im sorry for it.

That's not what is vexing me by the way. Although it did vex me some what when it happened.
What is well and truly vexing me is what happened today while at our local Target store. I know Ive shared happenings with you before from that store but today.. something so monumental happened that it has occupied my brain fully for the last 8 hours or more.
While in line at the check out, there was a man in front of me with a cart full of items.
Instead of reading the gossip magazines as I usually do, I glanced at the contents of his cart.

23 bags of frozen peas (no more, no less)
3 rolls of paper towels
6 gallons of generic brand bleach
2 packages of Trident Sugar-free gum

Ok, so you know how my mind works and I began to try and work out what he was doing with this stellar combination of items. I wanted to give him a medal for the outstanding-ness of his selection. I pondered and pondered... peas, towels, bleach.. Next I moved to the man himself. He was older, perhaps in his late 60s or even 70s with wild hair and a beard. But he was wearing normal clothes and comported himself quite sanely in my humble opinion. He didn't even mind that I was eying his coveted stash of peas and bleach. In fact, at one point, when the checker scanned the 19th bag of peas, I looked at him and said cheerfully, "THAT is a lot of peas!"
He simply smiled in an insane sort of way and said, "YES! YES IT IS!!!"

Theory:
He is a serial killer. He kills people by making them eat more frozen peas than the human stomach can handle. Then he cleans up the mess (I dunno, ruptured stomach or something) with paper towels and bleach and then calls a cab to make his get-away after chewing on some Trident gum to ensure his breath is Oh-So-Fresh.

Secondary Theory: He likes peas and dazzling white clothing and Trident teeth. Paper towels were ancillary.

As you may be able to tell, Im still greatly vexed by this experience. Its midnight and Im thinking about it still. What say you?

How about a little food?

This is a pork ragout I made out of pork butt and bacon... slow cooked for a whole day with garlic and other herbs and some good red wine. I hand made the pappardelle pasta which turned out wonderful and served it with some great french bread and a good Chianti.

And the finished product

And.. next- dinner at Michael Smith- absolutely FANTASTIC! I didnt get pictures of all the food because we kept forgetting to take pictures but this photo was of D's dinner which was lamb chops in a wild mushroom and red-wine reduction sauce. I had the duck which was equally amazing.

Next we have my famous stuffed mushrooms which I usually make for special occasions because they are so fattening. My excuse this time was that it was Tuesday in February which seemed to us, as good a reason as ever for large quantities of dairy products stuffed into fungi.

And last but not least on the food front- was dinner at Chaz. This photo is a picture of my entree which was medium rare duck over fingerling potatoes and topped with a vanilla butter sauce. I wasnt sure Id like the sauce but it was simply AMAZING!
We also had stunning, mind blowing pumpkin raviolis in a sage, brown butter and brown sugar sauce that I would go back for... just to have THOSE again!

Just back from a week in Orlando, FL. What a great time we had! It was 4 days of fun with me and D and his Aunt and Uncle who live there, and then 4 LONGGGGGG days of meetings for work that seemed to never end. What is the point of flying a bunch of type-A, hyper people to a beautiful place like this and keeping them locked up in conference rooms for 9 hours a day??? At least they fed and liquored us WELL. Open bar every night for 5 hours. UGHHHH

D and I decided to make the best of it by going 4 days early and seeing the sights and Uncle E and Aunt B showed us an amazing time! We got to see Disney, Epcot and Universal as well as having a great Super Bowl party at their lovely home.
Here is a picture of the resort where THE COMPANY put us up. Not too shabby even though we didnt get to see much of it.

View from our room:

Filed under: OTHER

Its late and as usual Im tired but I wanted to share this with you because it makes me laugh and come up with an entirely new story for it every time I look at it.

I caption it:

"We were just playin.. and well... "

Can you caption your own story on this one?

I cant promise to blog every day but I do miss this place so will work harder to blog more often. New job is awesome, school is harder than I expected and everything else simply keeps chugging along. I want the Winter to be over. I wish for the Spring and crack the windows in my kitchen from time to time even though its cold, just to remind me.

I hope you all are well and had a fabulous Christmas!

Dont eat too many frozen peas.

Sunday pondering

Sun, 07 Nov 2010 23:11:52 GMT

WOW a lot has gone on since I last posted here. Particularly in the realm of politics.

(This means Dark, you can skim over the top part.. ;)

We watched the election returns with a very good, very expensive bottle of wine and were only disappointed in a few cases. More than anything I could hope for, I wanted Harry Reid to lose. Of course, he didn't. In my opinion, we put forth a weak candidate and I don't say that because she was a Tea Party favorite- (I'm a Tea Party fan in most cases) I say that because she appeared to have a screw or two loose in every interview or debate I watched her in. No matter, she lost. We did the happy dance here in the F. household including Bailey when we knew that Nancy Pelosi was going to have to hand her gavel to a Republican so that made up for almost everything else.
It was a very good night.

Then we had the rallies by Colbert and Stewart which were supposedly designed to mock the Glenn Beck rally. From what I saw of them, they looked like a bunch of people who were out to have a good time more than anything else and isn't that the beauty of America? I can illustrate this by some of the signs held by the attendees at the rally.

Seem like a harmless bunch to me, but what do I know.

In California, the Comrades that make the rules there have decided to outlaw toys in Happy Meals from McDonalds. Of course, they know better than we do what is right for our children. What amazes me is that we have been allowed for so long to make our own decisions! How have we and our children survived? Well thank heavens all that pesky decision making has been eliminated for us.

In other politics, we saw Dear Leader, President Present come on national television the day after the election and try to act humble. This is something of a challenge for him and he didn't do a very good job of it. Of course his spin on the election, which he called a "Shellacking" was that the American people simply didn't "UNDERSTAND" his ideas. It wasn't that they rejected those ideas- we just were too stupid to get them.
It is this kind of elitist, disdain for all things American that turn people off from Obama. While I get that not all people educate themselves on the issues before they vote, Id venture to say that in this particular election, people on both sides took the time to understand and to VOTE. We spoke with our votes and what I heard was pretty clear. WE DON'T WANT YOUR SOCIALIST, EVER-GROWING, INTRUSIVE GOVERNMENT. No thanks. The polls continue to reflect this message and its one that Obama doesn't get.

I told you it was a big week. We also saw the "indefinite suspension" of LIBERAL LOOZER Keith Olbermann. MSNBC suspended him for making donations to a bunch of liberals that everyone on earth knows he supports. While I don't agree with their decision, they were within their legal rights to do so. What has been even more entertaining than that, has been watching the absolute melt-down of the liberals over this. I need only go over to visit the wackos at The Huffington Post to get my giggles. Every day there are posts by the unwashed masses there calling for people like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh to be "REMOVED FROM THE AIRWAVES" as soon as possible. There is wailing and gnashing of teeth over the "evil these people spread on TV and radio" and how they must be stopped. However, when a liberal is fired, its pure, blatant censorship. Pointing this out to them, using their VERY OWN POSTS from days before makes no difference. I actually had someone respond to me on a message board there saying that censorship was indeed a good and liberal thing when it gets rid of evil conservatives, but was very, very bad when it pertained to a liberal. Her excuse: "The media is full of conservative voices. All media is controlled by the right."

I wonder if she typed with with a straight face?

For a little drama around the home front, we have had some fun with our landscaping company. They asked for a list of all the "Fall clean up" things we needed done to the yard.

We sent them this:
1. Prune and shape all bushes and trees.
2. Clean out dead ivy in gardens.
3. Remove dead shrub that has grown over the sidewalk in front.
4. Mulch all flowerbeds.

What we got:
Day 1, Thursday: pruned bushes in front yard.
(D called and asked about the other items)

Day 3, Monday: pruned bushes in back yard. Left the rest.
(D called to complain about the remaining items)

Day 4, Tuesday: Cleaned out dead ivy. Left the rest.
(D called again...)

Day 5: Thursday: Manager comes out to view the remaining items and apologize. He promises all remaining items will be done and will not charge us for a replacement shrub. I carefully show him the dead shrub in question along with the other items.

Day 6: Friday: Healthy shrub in front garden is removed and replaced. Dead shrub still there. No mulch, anywhere.

In order to be helpful, I prepared this handy graph for D which shows the likelihood of him getting all the needed work done by the landscaping company.

Day 7: D gives up and gives The Beast my helpful graph.

How about some food?
We had dinner at one of our favorite places the other night called Room 39.
I had the duck and D had pan seared scallops. D says that my duck is better which is why I love him and why I'm making it for his birthday dinner this week!

The Beast had a little fun this week after a package was delivered. Of course, she assumes that any and all items delivered to the house are for her, along with the containers. Luckily I was able to salvage my item while D amused her with the box.

AND FINALLY... something USEFUL!

This may be the single most valuable invention. EVER. Are you tired of having your lunch stolen by greedy co-workers? Sick of looking forward to that yummy ham sandwich and finding only an empty baggy?
Finally- a baggie that is pre-printed with mold on it. Simply put your sandwich in, deposit it into the communal refrigerator and never again worry about someone stealing your lunch.
I love it. I must meet this inventor. MUST.

Rainy Saturday

Sun, 26 Sep 2010 03:55:36 GMT

The Hubster is out wowing a crowd with his sax at a wedding tonight and The Beast and I are chilling together. We had a cold front move through yesterday and are enjoying the cool 54 degrees even though its been lightly raining most of the evening. For dinner tonight, I finally used up the last of the garden tomatoes and made some tomato basil bisque which was fantastic! I also grilled some shrimp on the indoor grill that I just tossed in olive oil, herbs, garlic, bread crumbs and a little Sriracha sauce for spice. I love having an indoor grill even though I hate having to clean it!

I'm always a little sad when the seasons change but this summer was so hot and humid that I threw a little party to see it go.

Im having a really nice Beringer Chardonnay now while The Beast drools on my feet and barks softly in her sleep.

We have been watching "Chopped" all evening. Its the show where professional chefs are given a basket of 4-5 weird ingredients and have to make a meal. They can use other ingredients too but the meal must contain all of the secret ingredients. The ingredients in the last competition were Blue fish, , passion fruit, ginger snap cookies and beef jerky. LOL
The winner simply amazed me. He made a breading out of the cookies he ground up and pan seared the fish with the breading on it. Then he took the beef jerky and fried it in some bourbon and sugar (like bacon bits), added vinegar and passion fruit, blended it and made a vinaigrette that he poured over a salad that he put the fish on top of.
I have NO idea how he came up with any of that but he won the round!
Im now disgusted with the amazing creativity of these guys so am turning it OFF.

Blahhh.

If we had a credible, unbiased media in this country, the New Black Panther/Justice Department voter intimidation case would already have brought down Obama's lawless, racist regime. But even deprived of oxygen, this outrageous scandal continues to grow:

Information obtained from the Obama Department of Justice by the Washington-based government monitor Judicial Watch appears to document that a political operative participated in the decision to drop large portions of a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party that essentially already had been won.

Judicial Watch announced in a statement � that it has forced the disclosure of the existence of documents "indicating [ultra partisan Obamunist] Democratic election lawyer Sam Hirsch was involved in the DOJ decision to dismiss its voting rights case against the New Black Panther Party for Self Defense."
In case you've been relying on the MSM for information, the case is about New Black Panther thugs, including the charming King Samir Shabazz, intimidating voters during the 2008 election. Here's video:

Nope.. no voter intimidation here... nothing to see.. move along..

In the aftermath of the open and shut case being thrown out on orders from above, former Justice Department attorney J. Christian Adams revealed that the DOJ under the "post-racial" Obama will not prosecute cases of human rights abuses where the defendants are black and the victims are white � a state of affairs that no reasonable person of any color would tolerate.

As with Watergate, the cover-up is expanding the scope of the scandal. Already, a level of political involvement has been revealed that was previously denied by Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez. More revelations await, if investigators are tenacious enough to chip through the Manchurian Moonbat's trademark "transparency."

Story thanks to Moonbattery

The Last Best Hope

(expect goosebumps)

Written and created by Ben Howe

Things I dont need

From our friends at Etsy

"Hand-Made Customized "Face" Wall Clock - TRULY UNIQUE! Hand-Made AND TRULY ONE-OF-A-KIND"

How about a horrifying clock of grandma that will live on in your nightmares for the rest of your life?

Also from Etsy

"Beautiful hand sculpted figures that are made from your picture. These figures are created from your photo in cold porcelain. These figures are something you can not find in stores. One of a kind gifts or decorations. Great for home or office!"

I adore the fact that she points out you cant get these in stores. Unfortunately, she doesnt know WHY.

And- underwear, well.. .for the foot. We present The FOOT THONG. I could only sit here and imagine what sort of person would create this and the thought process that went in to it.

Signs of the times

Alright. The Beast and I are going to watch a movie in bed with an entire bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips. (for me of course)

WHAT?

WHAT???

The Party Of Alex

Sat, 18 Sep 2010 23:53:37 GMT

Just finished a rather tedious discourse with some raging liberals over at the bastion of wacko-leftists called the Huffington Post. Of course, they immediately attack a conservative any time one posts there but I like to rile them up now and then and between the three or four other conservatives writing, we easily rendered them silent with pesky things called facts. One question I get over and over again while posting there and on other liberal sites is why I am a Republican.

This isn't an easy answer because I believe my party has been almost as big a disaster at times as the "other guys." Also, my Mom taught me to never blindly follow any one and think for myself. Its gotten me this far, hasn't it? So, here is what I wrote to one flaming liberal who actually fanned me afterward so maybe there is hope.

I call it my declaration.

I have found no party that perfectly fits me. So I chose the one closest to my beliefs (for now). I'm for conservatism on spending and for smaller government. I believe in capitalism because it works. I believe that America is exceptional. I believe in God though I think God is many things to many people. I believe government is necessary to rule over anarchy so I pay my taxes but I'm tired of paying more than a third of my hard earned money towards waste and corruption. I don't mind giving people a helping hand, but it should be my choice, not someone else.

I believe our government is a spider web that is ever increasing in our lives and I don't support that. I'm tired of corruption (on both sides) and obscene government spending/waste. I believe in personal responsibility. I believe that my family and I can decide what's right for us- better than anyone else. I am against amnesty and for stronger border security. I'm pro capital punishment, particularly for people who commit crimes against children. I support gun owner rights. I'm for a strong military, though I want us out of both current wars.

I support the constitution which says that ALL people should have equal rights and that includes gay adults who want to marry. I believe the people who want to build the 9/11 cultural center have the absolute RIGHT to do so but personally feel its inappropriate. I believe that women have have the right to an abortion, though again, my personal opinion is that is the wrong choice.

The way I see it, I fit somewhat like a round peg in a square hole but most certainly on the side of Republicans and conservatives. Before I head out to dinner with The Man of My Dreams, I wanted to make this public declaration. I'm considering starting a party of my own. The Party of Alex!

This message was approved by me.

Chock-Full-O-Blog

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 04:42:36 GMT

Just back from 5 days in Vegas. We had a great time, basked in luxury and gave Steve Wynn most of our money. So, we decided we must return home and work to earn more money to give back to him next time. If you haven't had the opportunity to visit The Wynn, I highly recommend it. We love Vegas and have stayed in many of the resorts there but this one was by far the most luxurious! We celebrated my birthday, my new job and Labor Day all in one! We splurged and got a Tower Suite which was very cool because its where the celebrities stay. They even have their own private entrance and drive for your limo so no paparazzi will see you when you check in and out. It also has its own private pool and private pool cabanas which was OUTSTANDING!

We pretended to be "someone" for 5 days, occasionally wearing big sunglasses and hats and skulking around as if we didn't want anyone to notice us.

No one did. :(

A couple of photos:

The entrance gardens

The living room of the suite

The "Master bath suite"... we even had a "GUEST" bathroom complete with phone and television in it.

David, of course took all his important "calls" in there.

I couldn't get it all in the photo but the left side has a men's sink/vanity and dressing room and to the right, there is the same for ladies! I suppose some people travel with that many clothes and shoes that they need separate dressing areas and closets??

Bedroom at night.. too bad it was blurry- we didn't take a real camera.

And my blog would not be complete without some PHOOOD PHOTOS!

Dinner at Bartolotta- Kobe Beef fillet Mignon over creamy horseradish potatoes, broccoli rabe and baby carrots.

Spicy Lobster Pasta from Stratta (link)

Seafood pasta from Bartolotta (link)
You really MUST take a look at the place, outdoor pool side dining for dinner in private cabanas! I'm attaching the photo we took with the camera as no "real" cameras are allowed because there are often celebrities there. It was GORGEOUS! Floating silver spheres on the water, our own private tent and people bringing us FOOOOOD and WINE!!

My birthday cake and special dessert from "Alex" (link)

WOW what a trip! The casino comped us about $1k in free food and stuff so even though we lost about $1k on gambling, I suppose we sort of broke even if you don't count the room and airfare! We are looking forward to going back SOON!

WORK

The job is going well... I spent the first 90 days studying and traveling which has been good for learning the job. Starting this week, I actually get to go out on my own and meet with my clients so I'm thrilled about that. My first big activity is tomorrow in Des Moines, Iowa where we are sponsoring a big golf tournament for a large law firm there. I get to do stressful stuff like drive a golf cart, drink beer, give away prizes and pay for the big dinner at the golf club! Not bad for a days work!

SURREAL LIFE

A few weeks ago I got my hair kind of chopped off because it was so hot. I decided my avatar should also reflect the chopping so here is how my hair looks now. I only wish I were as young and "waif-like" as my avatar... *sigh* I took the photo in front of the lighthouse I imagine my Mom lives in now. :)

PASSAGES

We celebrated my actual birthday at a fabulous place here in KC called EBT. My hubby took me out for a romantic dinner even though he was sick all week and on antibiotics. I ADORE that man!! The food photos didn't turn out very good but I did get this shot of our table side Bananas Foster with a candle!

POLITICS

What would my blog be without a few political items?

First, two that are submitted without comment.

I know, kind of snarky on both of those but I'm tired and ITS MY BLOG!!!

I did find a more interesting article that I thought you would enjoy. A sign of the times, suppose but I'm beginning to wonder if we would be better off had this been a true story?

PROGRESS

As of 2012, normal light bulbs will be outlawed in the Land of the Free, due to a deal crony capitalists at General Electric worked out with corrupt congresscritters behind a smokescreen of preposterous enviromoonbat posturing. Instead, we will be forced to use flickering, expensive, child-unfriendly, and possibly carcinogenic compact fluorescent bulbs. These contain mercury, and therefore constitute a biohazard.

What to do with the old bulbs, since they're too toxic to throw in the trash? Could they charge you with terrorism if you mail them to your representative in Congress?

(Story thanks to Moonbattery.com)

In other good news Comrades-

NORTHGLENN, Colo. -- A high school student in Northglenn is upset that campus security told him to remove the large American flags flying from his pickup truck because it might make others uncomfortable.
My initial thoughts on the matter were more about how "uncomfortable" people might be had he rammed that flag pole right up their.... well, you get it.

STUFF THAT IS GOOD

TRUE BLOOD PAPER DOLLS!!

Finally, for all of us True Blood fans...Collect them all!

Alright.. its late and I must away to IOWA tomorrow. Having never been, I am quite sure I'm in for a gastronomical and terrestrial TREAT.

See you soon!

Musings

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 20:26:03 GMT

Yesterday and today I got into several heated online discussions with liberals on the subject of the Islamic cultural center being proposed near ground zero. This has been something that has weighed on me since the story first broke and its time I tried to spell out my thoughts on the matter.

First and foremost, I want to say that I will always stand on the side of our constitution. If we dont, we may as well shred it and start over. I do not for a moment believe there are legal, constitutional grounds for stopping the building of this center. If there were a group of people fighting it on constitutional grounds, I would fight against them.

My stance is a little less "important" when making the final determinations. My feelings are based on just that- feelings. I dont live in New York, nor did I lose anyone personally on 9/11 but the polls say that the majority of Americans, particularly New Yorkers are opposed to this building. THAT my friends is what the real argument is about.

We are constantly pushed to be tolerant and understanding of people who are different from us so why then, are the American's feelings now irrelevant? Why then are those who simply oppose it because its not the right thing to do- called racists or bigots? When does the tolerance and understanding begin to go both ways?

The logical side in me says there is no valid reason and certainly no legal reason for it not to be built but there is a HUGE part of me that simply says- How about just doing the right thing for a change? I have come to believe that the right thing can now only be defined as the thing "against America" at least according to those currently in charge. We as Americans must ALWAYS take a back seat, in the interest of "fairness" and proving that we are no bigots. To that I say, What a LOAD of BULLSHIT.

We rarely even get into the nuts and bolts of the reason people are suspect about this center and its spiritual leader. No one wants to talk about that. While the press wants to present the Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf as a moderate Muslim clergyman, some of his statements point in a different direction. Among Rauf's Huffingtonian statements: that American policy was "an accessory to the crime" of 9/11 and that Osama bin Laden was "made in America."

Rauf will also not say whether he views Hamas, which intentionally slaughters civilians, has been designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government, and advocates the extermination of both Israelis and Jews as a terrorist organization.

He explains his reticence by saying that "the issue of terrorism is a very complex question." Rauf also has ties to the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), organizations created by the Muslim Brotherhood and named by the U.S. Justice Department as unindicted co-conspirators in a terrorism-financing case.

Again, we could dismiss all of the above because he is a "man of peace" and simply get back to the discussion, not of whats legal, or even what is common sense,� but of what is right.

I read a fascinating article by a moderate Muslim professor that was a voice of reason.
Akbar Ahmed, a professor at American University who is the author, most recently, of "Journey Into America: The Challenge of Islam wrote:� "Muslim leaders need to understand," he said, "that 9/11 remains an open wound for Americans. And it is wrong to rub salt into an open wound."

Indeed that is what they are proposing but we as Americans are no longer allowed to speak out about how we feel lest we be called bigots or racists. Were a Muslim or any other religion to speak out, their feelings are to be "understood" and treated with respect. Ours are merely "ugly, hateful words."

How far and how sad we have come.

From the Patriot Network regarding the Arizona law suit:

How about a little Google silliness tonight? I tried it.. it worked! I know, I know.. now Im a racist and a bigot.

Oh WHATEVER. Its MYBLOG.

Things I need

This is dedicated to my friend Kathy G who I miss a lot! She had several job interviews this week so send her your best thoughts and prayers!!!!

Here is the guy Im going to call when my MAC needs work....

Visual interpretation of a stream of consciousness... I LOVE IT!

WORDS from Everynone on Vimeo.

Alright.. Its late.. it was good to see you here again!

Nite!

A fortuitous seating

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 04:40:45 GMT

I traveled all week and am incredibly tired. I miss this blog more than you know and every time I think I will write, I fall asleep. I spent the last 7 days in places like Dayton, Detroit and Chicago and after a few days, they all seemed to blend together.

It reminded me of the movie "Fight Club" where the guy called the people he met, "single serving friends." Each one is a different face, in a different city, only differentiated by the single serving of wine or pretzels or coffee they shared.

Some days, I am too tired or grouchy to speak to my seat-mate. Some days I like to talk. On my flight home to KC on Friday afternoon, I planned to ignore the person and sleep the entire flight home from Detroit, but it was not to be.

He was 21 and wearing an ill-fitting suit that was wrinkled but his cheeks were pink and he had a smile that I couldn't help but notice. It wasn't just a smile, but more a glow from within. I pulled out my iPad and began to read a book when he asked what the iPad was. I was surprised that a 21 year old wouldn't know what an iPad was but he explained that he had been living in rural Japan for 2 years and had little to no information about what was going on in the US. He had only spoken with his family on a few phone calls over the years and was happy but nervous to be heading home finally.

It turns out that he is a Mormon missionary who devoted 2 years of his life to service before he heads off to college. I couldn't not talk to him after that statement!

He told me that most of the young men pledge two years of service with the goal of simply spreading the word of Christianity (not Mormonism) where ever they are stationed. He lived with 2 other young people and a "guide" in over a dozen of the poorer provinces in Japan. They were up at 6 am for 4 hours of school and then spent� another few hours just out on the streets talking to people about God. He didn't believe it was his role to convert people, nor was it his role to push any particular religion- more about sharing the beauty that is the word of God.

After several hours on the streets, they then volunteered at building homes, schools or doing carpentry work.

He told me stories about the people he met and the sights he had seen. He learned to speak Japanese fluently. He met people who had never even heard the word of God and spent days listening to Buddhists to understand the beauty of that religion. He prayed in a temple and on a street and in a tiny shack.
He slept for two years in strange apartments on a woven mat, living on less than a thousand dollars a month US, which is what the mission provided him with.

His eyes lit up again and again as he talked about the beauty of the places and the people with not an ounce of judgment visible in his face. He ate the strangest of foods without hesitation when it was offered. He sang out loud in foreign churches in very foreign languages.� He wandered streets with the fearlessness of the innocent. He worked in the rain beside people building a small bridge across a stream and thanking God, no matter what you call him for the blessings he saw.

Now he was going home and all he could think of was how his family would see him. Would they recognize how much he'd changed and grown? Would they understand that he was a changed man- and yes, a man?� The man I clearly could see and was in awe of...

I could have spoken to him for hours and not only because I was fascinated by him and the incredible guts and heart it would have taken for a 19 year old to take a leap of faith and go to such a different culture. But more than that, I was amazed at what he brought away from that journey. It wasn't how different people are, or how different their food is, or how strange their gods are...
His focus and what he told me he will always� remember- was the sheer beauty of people and their spirits.

How many of us will ever experience what he has seen or see as clearly as he does now?

When we arrived at the airport, there was a large crowd of people waiting for him with balloons and signs and amazingly- a woman he met in Japan who had been homeless. He met her on the street and she ended up coming to the US because of that meeting. His family took her in and in the fall, she is attending college here in Kansas. She was front and center in that jubilant crowd and I simply couldn't help but hug all of them and thank his parents for raising such an amazing young man.

Sometimes, seating arrangements are fortuitous. Sometimes, they leave an indelible mark on our lives.

Here is a photo from my camera phone- not very clear and could only get a few of the crowd,� but you can see him on the right and the Japanese woman next to him. His family all wore shirts with the letters of his name- David, but two of his brothers hadn't arrived yet so their shirts spelled out-
DA�� D... his mother explained this to me as she cried and showed her pride.

Tonight, I'm thinking of him, sleeping in a bed not far from here, trying to acclimate to his "new life" in Kansas. He leaves in three weeks for college at Brigham Young University in Utah.

God Speed David!

Just a few food photos because I haven't shared them...

Dinner at Plaza III.....

Starting with "Colossal Shrimp cocktail"

And thick cut, medium rare prime rib....

And.. the big PAYOFF for The beast...

The BONE.

Even though its late and my BRAIN is tired and its already almost MONDAY again....

a couple of political funnies.. because its MY BLOG and I can write what I wanna.

Finally...

A big SHOUT OUT to my friend Dark... who has like me, been on a new and epic journey.... and perhaps we have both discovered things about ourselves we hadn't known.

CHEERS!!

And the rest....

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 04:02:58 GMT

So the second night of our St Louis get away was spent at one of our favorite French places called Chez Leon. You simply cant beat it for fresh, fabulous French food!

D had one of his most favorites- grilled lamb chops that were served with a red wine reduction and potato gratin.

I had the same thing I had last time we were there because I couldn't stop thinking about it. Roast chicken rubbed with herbs and tucked under the skin was some rich fois gras... it melted during the roasting and just made the chicken SUCCULENT!

Desert was what might have been the most amazing desert Ive ever had that wasnt chocolate! It was baked apples in puff pastry covered in the most delectable, buttery caramel sauce.... WOW

And for last night's dinner at home- a fresh green salad with all kinds of goodies and home made shallot vinaigrette... and copper river salmon grilled over apple and hickory wood, served with parmesan risotto and haricots verts. Paired tonight with Simi Chardonnay. Looks like I moved when I tried to take the salad pic and its not quite clear. Blahh...

And finally- flowers from my garden!

Politics

Color me SHOCKED.

A new study by the Minnesota Majority found that at least 341 convicted felons in heavily Democratic Minneapolis-St. Paul who voted illegally in the 2008 Senate race. And it looks quite likely that felons gave Franken his narrow Senate victory.
The six month vote recount in the Senate race was a torturous process. The morning after November 4, 2008 election, Senator Norm Coleman lead Al Franken by 725 votes. Correcting for typos cut Coleman's margin to 215, and a recount by all the counties reduced it further to 192.
Once the state canvassing board had looked into the intent of voters and counted 953 previously rejected absentee ballots, the final total had reversed that count and handed Franken a 312 vote victory.
This should not be a surprise, especially after the results of the Minnesota Majority study. With this small number of votes separating the two candidates even just hundreds of illegal voters can alter the outcome. By any measure, felons overwhelmingly vote for Democrats.

NO MOSQUE Rally at Ground Zero

The rally was organized by Stop Islamization of America (SIOA) on June 6, 2010 at the corner of Church Street and Liberty Street near Ground Zero.

Thousands of New Yorkers gathered to protest the construction of a Mega Mosque 600 feet away from the WTC in the building formerly known as the Burlington Factory - a big clothing store that closed in the aftermath of 9/11 after it was damaged by the debris from one of the planes. Click for more info.

Americans always welcome all kinds of ethnic and religious minorities as individuals - as long as they embrace the American ideas of liberty, equal rights, and tolerance.

But if such people reject American values, forfeit their individuality, and join a destructive and deceptive cult that is antithetical to liberty, equal rights, and tolerance toward others - they also forfeit their right to be tolerated by Americans. They are no longer welcome. Story and more photos at Peoples Cube.

And one more before I go... just because its MY BLOG AND I CAN POST WHAT I WANT TO.

I know... I KNOW!

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 06:46:31 GMT

My poor blog has been neglected but its not without me thinking of it and missing it.

Have you ever had so much information thrown at you that your head simply cannot absorb any more? That is where I am, and while I love it, I should be using this blog to empty my head once in a while.

Question- Whose idea was it for me to take a really hard core new job AND go back and get a Political Science degree at the same time? Oh.. that's right. never mind. So, Im loving it.. loving the courses but not the homework and papers due and staying up late after studying for work to get the stuff done. Not complaining you see as I know how many people would love the opportunities Ive been blessed with! I just have to keep SLOGGING away! Two semesters down, and a 3.95 average and the Deans Honor Roll!!

Work.. what can I say? They told me it would take a minimum of 1-2 years to learn all the legal solutions we offer and that is ABSOLUTELY GAWDARN right. Im studying night and day and going through more than 300 online training modules before I go to Ohio the first week of August for an in person training course. I think it helps that I already know much of this stuff but its more about how the technical tools WORK than the legal terminology.

I got to spend 2 days in the field with a colleague in Wisconsin this week and it was terrific. She was a practicing prosecuting attorney for 8 years before she joined our company and has now been with them for 14 years. She is a bulldog out there and the attorneys love her and respect her. I can only hope to be as good as she is after a little while but my impatience drives me and my new boss insane. I want to know EVERYTHING NOW- AND make a fortune!

No vacation time here this summer since I just started so will save it all for Christmas but my territory is doing relatively well and all of my firms are locked in to contracts for at least a year which should give me time to learn everything.

I want to give a shout out to my ROCKSTAR cousin Denette who cracked MULTIPLE bones while slalom water-skiing over fourth of July. Not only did she break bones.. but they had to get her in the boat.... then haul her back to the shore and over the docks to an ambulance. They have postponed her surgery for another week until the swelling has gone down. We usually spend 4th there with the family but didnt have any vacation this year so missed all the drama! My love and admiration to her as she is a champion skier and FIERCE when it comes to dealing with pain!

Send good thoughts and prayers to Warrior NETTY!!!!

Food:
I saved you a couple of photos from a weekend trip to St Louis that I thought you would enjoy. We went to two 5 star restaurants that we adored and we took pictures when we could.

First night was SLEEK steakhouse, owned by one of our favorite chefs- Hubert Keller. We did the Chefs tasting menu called " BEEF AROUND THE WORLD" and it certainly was!!

First course was Kobe Beef Carpaccio for D

Since I dont eat RAW meat... they made me a special first course of braised Oxtail cannelloni which was TO DIE FOR!!! It was served in a delicate red wine reduction and stuffed with oxtail and CHEESE!

Next course was Kobe Beef sliders which were melt in your mouth and this is the first time I could definitely tell the difference between regular hamburger and KOBE. It was served on a house made bun with house made pickles and shoestring potatoes.

Next course was Kobe Beef Asian skewers. These were cooked rare and basted in a spicy pepper sauce that was fantastic. We could have gobbled more than two of these!
They were also served with fresh, tempura fried veggies!

Next course was a braised short rib in a cabernet/pinot sauce which MELTED IN MY MOUTH!!! If I had to select one course from the meal to only have, it would have been this one.

Next course was the sorbet to "cleanse the palate" for the main entree.. like we needed an ENTREE for GODSAKE! However, this was incredible... it was a basil sorbet with fresh berries and may have been the most refreshing thing Ive ever tasted!

The main "entree" was filet Mignon cooked medium rare. David's was topped with fresh fois gras which I dont eat so they put a quarter fresh lobster on mine!! WOOOHOOO!! They were served with a rich potato gratin and a wild mushroom and spinach ragout.

Yeah... I KNOW!

So finally, the desert was a combination of several fabulous items including a chocolate torte, an orange napoleon and the most amazing cherries jubilee with fresh spearmint ice cream!
I think.. we could have died then and just been happy from a culinary perspective!! And yeah... that ice cream was as creamy as it looks!!
WOW.

Ok, I have the second night's worth of photos from a French place to share as well as dinner tonight at home but its almost midnight and I must get to bed. I promise to come back tomorrow and finish the photos as well as give a brief synopsis of how THE MESSIAH is ruining our country every single day. And you know, he has given me plenty of topics for discussion!!

Politics

Just a TASTE of political red meat...
If you arent following the fact that the Obama administration has dropped the charges against the Black Panthers who were CLEARLY trying to intimidate voters.. while carrying a BASEBALL BAT.... NO intimidation here..

You DECIDE? Attorney General Holder says- there isnt any clear evidence against the guys...(Really??)

So- Megyn Kelly on Fox News goes after Kristen Powers (weak, whiny, liberal bureau-weenie)..... and I think that Megyn DEVOURS this silly woman. I think she sends her whiny ass packing....RAWWWWRRRRRR....
What say you??

OK... SLEEP CALLSSSSSSSSNighters!!

I havent vanished!

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 03:07:36 GMT

Just buried in learning new stuff at the new gig! Not sure if I mentioned it back in Jan but I also decided to go back to school and get a degree in Political Science- just BECAUSE...(and you know how I love my politics!) So between learning the new job (with volumes of treatises and statutes I have to know) and studying for school, Im swamped!

Tons to blog about...and a VERY full brain! Do I sound smarter already?

I promise Ill be back soon- will blog this weekend for sure. Just to give you a little somethings-

Dinner on Sunday was Duck leg confit and grilled duck breast with truffled mashed potatoes and sauteed sugar snap peas. As usual, we ordered the duck from Hudson Valley farms and had it shipped on ice. JUST AMAZING!! Served with J Lohr Pinot Noir.

Second- we have had dreadful storms here in good old OZ, where the tornadoes roam. Nothing damaging other than some serious flooding but the worst is how it impacts The Beast. She has spent the last 3 weeks hiding under D's desk and will rarely come out for fear of thunder. See diagram.

Bless her pointed little head..

And finally, just because I cant blog without a few swipes at Dear Clueless Leader:

I know. I could go ON and ON but Im sooo tired and my brain hurts.

I think Im gonna need a bigger head.

This weekend!!! I promise!

Chock-A-Block Wednesday!

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 23:55:04 GMT

Got a couple of hours? Pull up a chair.

I hope you are having a Wednesday as great as I am! After starting my new job yesterday and getting a gorgeous bouquet of flowers from my DIVINE hubby, today I received another arrangement from my new boss and team! I could get spoiled by all this attention!
The first day was pretty non-eventful as my boss was still on vacation but I did get to sort through my new hire paperwork which was interesting. You can tell Im working for a bunch of lawyers as my "basic employment contract" was 18 pages long with 3 pages of addenda! LOL... Tomorrow I should get all my computer gear and office stuff and have to spend the next week or so studying all the anti-trust, ethics compliance and non-compete info to get certified with them. Im looking forward to all of it since I was bored silly for the many months I was lounging around eating bon-bons and living the luxury life that the state of Kansas unemployment checks provided me. Ha.

Conspiracy? I think not.

Now you know I attempt to avoid any crazy "right wing conspiracy theories" that occasionally float around out here in the blogosphere but this is something to really think about.
Consider the BP oil spill for a moment, shall we?

Much to the angst of the left, Obama announces that we will begin "investigating" the possibility of new offshore oil drilling in the US. A week or two (?) later, we suffer the largest oil spill disaster our country has ever seen. Coincidence?

There have been far right bloggers who from the beginning, posited that SOMEONE (not necessarily directly tied to the Obama admin) might have had a hand in the explosion to keep drilling from moving forward.
I considered that a conspiracy theory even though the timing of it seemed oddly ironic.

If you read the polls this week, you will see that while a clear majority of Americans still support offshore drilling, their appetite for it has damped somewhat since the disaster.

Again, Interesting.

Then we start to read the whisperings from conspiracy bloggers that this entire thing was not just to turn the public against drilling but to take it a step further and provide a method for the Obama administration to nationalize the greedy, mean old, right wing controlled (not) oil industry.

Now that, my friends isn't so crazy. Why not? This statist, socialist President of ours has used every method possible to take over private industry (auto, insurance, banking, student loans). Why would the oil industry be any different?

Most of my friends laughed when I mentioned this theory and said, "that will never happen..." but yesterday, I read the transcript of an interview that Robert Reich gave and he says that having the government take over BP (for starters) would not only be logical, but potentially required in order to get it "under control." You can also read his loony reasoning that Im sure the President is already considering -here on his blog.
Go figure. Alinsky rules: create a disaster... take over.

AH HA!!!
Now Im not so much a tin foil hat wearing right wing conspiracy theorist, am I??

Nothing to see here. Move along.

!! DANGER WILL ROBINSON !!

Every time the winds of public opinion blow away from the liberals, we hear the chatter begin about dusting off the "Fairness Doctrine." For those of you not paying attention, that was a brilliant idea dreamed up by some wacko lib-tards who hate the fact that we have talk radio on our side. Never mind they have the entire mainstream media toting their water for them.

The essence of the idea is to vanquish conservative talk radio and news by putting in regulations that say for every 4 hours of "conservative" talk, a station must then also play 4 hours of "liberal" talk, to make it "fair" you understand.
What it does in reality is place impossible rules on radio stations. You see, there is NO liberal talk radio, not any that people actually listen to. (Think: the rotting corpse of the now defunct Air America...). So, if there isn't 4 hours of liberal radio/news available (or any that would have listeners) there CANNOT be 4 hours of conservative radio/news. Its all about fairness you see.

Every time the Libs have trial ballooned the Fairness Doctrine, the public has of course gone crazy against it and they know its wildly unpopular.

Plan B of course is a page right out of Obama's playbook. If you cant PASS a law that gets things done, you merely change the rules.

How about this little ditty you likely haven't heard a WORD about? Recognizing they may have no luck in controlling the airwaves, how about taking over the newspaper media?

Mark Tapscott reports on the Federal Trade Commission's working paper on "REINVENTING JOURNALISM," an initiative intended to:

"..transform the news industry from an information product collected by private individuals and entrepreneurs as a service to private buyers, to a government-regulated public utility providing a "public good," as defined and regulated by government."

Can you say PRAVDA?

So, the fantastically failing newspaper industry, failing because people no longer want to read the liberal garbage they publish, will be "TRANSFORMED" from a greedy, money making private industry to a government regulated public entity providing for the PUBLIC GOOD.

How about them apples?

If that doesn't wake you up shivering in the middle of the night, nothing will.

FOODAGE

Since last week was my last few days of doing absolutely nothing, I flew to Washington DC to spend a few days with my hubby who was there on business. I planned to do little but relax during the day and enjoy the world-class cuisine by night.
We had an AMAZING trip!!

Three 5 star restaurants in a row but didn't get many great pictures as these fancy places frown on people taking pics of their grub. D was sneaky though and used his little camera phone without flash. Apologies for the lack of quality but you can at least see some of the "art" on the plates!

These pics from James Beard Award winning Chef Michel Richard's place called Citronelle. It was tough to get a reservation on such short notice but we scored a table at 9:30 on Wednesday night.

First course was an "amuse bouche," or little gift from the chef which was a couple of lovely little bites. The one with the tiny little clothespin on it was a spicy potato salad wrapped in a thin slice of crunch rutabaga. The second was salmon mousse on mini cracker with caviar on top!

D's Appetizers were:

A crispy little escargot pizza, covered in garlic pesto and escargot and topped with micro greens and a little vinaigrette.

And, a duck fois gras with duck confit. Of course, I dont GO THERE.. but D said it was better than the fois gras he had in Paris! (looks like cat food to me) but the flowers were pretty.

My appetizer was the MOST AMAZING goat cheese ravioli I have ever eaten!
Hand made and delicate, melt in your mouth but the best part was the sauce it was in which was thick and rich with crunchy little bites of carrot, onion, ratatouille and squash. WOW!!

Main course for both of us was the chef's specialty which was a braised short rib. This was NOT your ordinary short rib! It was FLINTSTONE sized!! According to the waiter, they braise it for 72 hours but when they sliced it, it was still a beautiful medium rare!
No idea how they did that but it was clear why this was the specialty! They first brought out the entire rib in a copper pot to "display" it for us before they took it back to the kitchen to slice. It was served with a green pepper corn sauce which wasnt needed but was delicious. Now about this BEEF. Literally MELTED IN YOUR MOUTH! I have never, in all my years or food travel eaten any thing this good. Never. I can die happy and fulfilled now. :)

Sorry the plate was already messed up as D had to take a BITE of his before he could stop drooling and snap the photo! LOL

It was served with what they promised would be the best mashed potatoes we ever had and they WERE. See the little round thing at the top right? That is a potato napolean- layers of the fluffiest, butteriest potatoes Ive ever eaten topped with little layers of crispy potato cakes! HolyMOLY batman that was good!

Another specialty of the house is their "Tater tots"... we loved the idea of "basic food" done really well and these tots were no exception. Crispy, buttery bites of goodness topped with a little Parmesan and white truffle oil! It was hard to not just gobble them all up!

Desert was also a miracle on a plate... D ordered the creme brulee and it came layered between flaky layers of buttery puff pastry! Very unusual preparation and very, very good. No photos of said brulee other than the plate he licked clean when I wasn't looking and I shall spare you that photo.

I O.D'd on chocolate by ordering their chocolate plate which included a chocolate tart, a coffee-chocolate mousse, a little hand-made chocolate Popsicle and a piece of chocolate layer cake. Something else that was really cool- see the little chocolate dots on the mousse? They called it chocolate "caviar" and is actually just chocolate frozen droplets. They drop them into a vat of liquid nitrogen and they pop out as crunchy little beads!

The little plate you see at the top was yet another gift from the chef, just in case we didnt get enough FOOOOD for gawdsake!
Two frozen little grapes coated in chocolate powder, little mini butter cakes, chocolate peanut butter cookies and another layer torte.

*Sigh* I think we gained 10 pounds just that night!

Second place we didn't get photos of but the food was FANTASTIC and its a DC landmark where all the famous politicians and presidents eat called The Old Ebbit Grill. It has lots of very cool history and is perhaps the largest restaurant/bar Ive ever seen, seating close to 400 people!
I had a massive lobster and some of the best calamari Ive ever eaten. D had their specialty- jumbo lump crab cakes with jicama slaw and we had a FABULOUS bottle of wine!

Third night was a famous place where lots of politicians also dine called The Oval Room, because it is right around the corner from the White House! Very cool inside but we asked for a table outside since it was a beautiful evening and we dined alfresco in downtown DC watching all the people go by. They had a chefs tasting menu that we ordered. I dont normally do that since Im much more of a picky eater than D is. He is VERY adventuresome! I dont do escargot or pate or fois gras or any of that funky stuff that he loves and tasting menus are usually full of that stuff but they required that both diners order it so we did.
Most of our photos didnt show up because it was dark but we got a few.

First course: Pastrami cured hiramasa (sushi) with tomato jam... (I didn't eat it.. raw fish.. blechhh..) but D said it was fantastic!

Second course: 45 minute fresh egg over pickled beech mushrooms and smoked bacon. D loved it but I have trouble with the texture of a sort of "runny" egg, even if its supposed to be that way.

Third course: Fois gras with smoked balsamic vinegar (I didnt eat it, blechh.. but D LOVED it!!!)

Luckily I had D with me to dispose of the first three courses for me!

Fourth course: Handmade gnocchi in a delicate lemongrass broth with crispy pancetta pieces.. AMAZINGLY GOOD! I could have eaten a whole plate of those!

Sixth course: Striped bass in lime vegetable broth.... Just DELICIOUS! So delicate and perfectly cooked it flaked in your mouth.

Sixth course: Prime beef strip loin in a tamarind glaze with stewed carrots and potato fritters. Now this was TOOOOO good! Im not a big fan of tamarind but the sauce was really unique. It tasted like an unusual, spicy BBQ sauce and the flavors while strong, weren't overwhelming. We stuffed ourselves!

Final course was milk chocolate mousse with peanut butter ganache and salted caramel ice cream. All we needed after that was someone to roll us out to the car and drive us back to the hotel!

What a great trip and a terrific get-away before starting the new job!

Hope you enjoyed the photos ALMOST as much as we enjoyed the food!

Did you miss me?

Sun, 23 May 2010 01:33:50 GMT

Yes, Im back, and gainfully employed! After two stressful weeks and some intense interviews in various states, I landed a FABULOUS position and start on June 1. Now this couldn't have gone better as dear hubby reminds me when we look back on the last 5 months:

5 months of paid "vacation" with benefits (runs out June 20)
Unemployment for those 5 months (runs out June 10)
Landing a job that pays even better than my previous one

Ok, how is that for "landing on my feet?" My only wish is that I had known all of that would happen so I wouldn't have spent those 5 months worrying my self sick and not sleeping. I could have ENJOYED that "vacation."

One comment- who ever dreamed up the "panel" interview is just evil. The poor candidate walks in to a massive conference room, ready to grovel for a position. There are no less than 6 "suits" sitting one one side of the big table and they ask the candidate to sit across from them. Then they proceed to fire questions at the candidate with stone faces for almost 2 hours while scribbling notes and giving absolutely zero feedback.
Hey, lets have a few more of those in my lifetime, huh?

Anyway- I'm thrilled and thanks for all the positive thoughts and notes from here in the blogosphere!

On to important stuff, so pull up a comfy chair, a good glass of wine and get ready to feel your blood pressure RISE.

"IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH...."

Anyone remember that from the book 1984? Its how the party leaders kept the proles of Oceania from getting information. The Ministry of Truth rationed and controlled all news and information by "rectifying" it to match Big Brother's current pronouncements.

We all stepped right in to a page from the book during Obama's speech to a group of young people graduating from college last weekend when he told them that information has become a "distraction, a diversion that is putting pressure on our country and our economy."
A distraction from what, if not blind obedience to an agenda that will destroy our country.

Of course, only some sources of information are a distraction, like talk radio, blogs and Fox News. Come ON folks, this isn't about him worrying that young people are getting too much information, this is about him worrying they are getting the "wrong" information and seeking ways to control it.

One has to wonder if he would feel the same about "information" were the tides moving in his favor instead of against him? Remember when he was running for office and everyone still thought he walked on water, information- including social networking sites and the Internet were his "grass roots"... his way to reach the "people."
He was after all, the POTUS who refused to give up his blackberry and gave the Queen an iPod for gawdsake. Now he claims he cant even "work" one and clearly wishes the information sources would simply shut the eff up.
Anyone for irony?

I just finished reading Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals for the 3rd time and there couldn't be a more clear pattern here.

Alinksy preached that the way to get your socialist agenda done, particularly when the people dont support it is by "Crisis." Create a crisis of epic proportion around the issue and then tell the people that in order for their very way of life to survive, a certain law must be passed. Of course, the pesky side effects of that law will infringe on your liberties but remember, you wont survive otherwise.

Lets take a look at this:

1. "The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression...." We were told that if TARP and other support measures weren't enacted immediately (and without much review) our entire society would crumble. They passed it, full of pork projects. It didn't work and we are all still here.

2. "Too Big To Fail" banks... we were told that if we didn't bail them out (and take control of) our money would no longer be safe anywhere and this kind of failure could lead to a massive economic meltdown. We bailed them out. They are still failing. We are keeping our money in mattresses now.

3. The dire end of US Auto companies... if we didn't bail them out (and take control of) we would see the collapse of one of the most important sources of industry in our country, as well as the unemployment of millions of people. We bailed. They are still making mostly crappy cars and the unions continue to suck the life out of the auto companies.

4. "A shameful health care crisis of historical proportion, that the world is watching".. Yeah, they passed it, against the majority will of the people. It, along with the other items will bankrupt us, increase the cost and ensure we get a reduced quality of service. But hey, they will control it.

Anyone see a pattern here? Its Alinsky TEXTBOOK. Create a crisis, get a radical law or piece of legislation passed and if you cant do that, perhaps an Executive Order?
Now lets look to the future.

1. Global Warming Crisis- "potentially leading to the utter destruction of our planet," unless we pass laws (Cap and Tax) that will cause energy prices to "Necessarily sky rocket" says Obama.

2. In an effort to combat the clear and present "Environmental Crisis", Obama created a task force overseeing the federal takeover and the selective banning of fishing. "Transition To Green" is a blueprint for the complete takeover of environmental policies by radical greens. The document recommends that Obama enforce green policies largely through the use of Executive Orders, which avoid Congressional oversight.

3. "National Emergency"- some pieces of legislation were signed this year that few people heard about. One weakens state Governors control over their National Guard, establishing an "advisory panel", chosen by the President that will rubber stamp plans to seize control of the Guard in a "national emergency" which of course was undefined. There is also the bill (S773) that proposes handing the President the power to disconnect private sector computers from the Internet in the event of a "national emergency", again, vaguely defined.

4. Information Crisis- speaking of information...A federal appeals court ruled last month that the Federal Communications Commission lacks the authority to regulate the Internet. No worries, mate. This week the Obama Administration chose to "reclassify" the Internet so it can regulate the Web anyway. This crowd is nothing if not legally creative.

5. How about Michelle Obama telling us that our country is now in an "Obesity crisis?"
She wants to start with the children of course, because that's the easiest target but how soon until she starts on the rest of us? Its a CRISIS after all.

I read a column the other day that said Obama and team dont want things to get better. They NEED the constant crises in order to push through their radical agenda.

I'm not sure how you can read any of the above and not think there is truth in that.

A little on the Arizona issue that has been talked to death but still really fires me up.
Obama officials are looking for ways to make that pesky little law go away and will likely succeed. They are spinning their wheels like crazy trying to paint the bill as some racist, right wing crazy law and still, the COUNTRY AINT BUYIN it.

Obama mouthpiece Robert Gibbs continues to struggle to portray supporters of the new law as "FRINGE wackos" so its interesting that "fringe" number equals SIXTY SEVEN percent of Americans polled and 71% of the citizens of AZ. In fact, dozens of states are looking in to whether or not they can pass similar laws. I can just HEAR the liberal's heads exploding!

Remember now, the constitution provides that if the federal government isn't DOING THEIR JOB PROTECTING ITS CITIZENS, the STATE has the right to step in and do so. That's exactly what the AZ law does. In fact, it merely reinforces the current federal laws already on the books.
And- I read it. All of it. Its a simple law actually and not two thousand pages long. Took me about an hour.

I just read that the Obama administration announced today they have no intention of enforcing the laws of this country!!

FOX News reported:

A top Department of Homeland Security official reportedly said his agency will not necessarily process illegal immigrants referred to them by Arizona authorities.

John Morton, assistant secretary of homeland security for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, made the comment during a meeting on Wednesday with the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune, the newspaper reports.

"I don't think the Arizona law, or laws like it, are the solution," Morton told the newspaper.

Sorry Pal, that's not your call. You get to DO YOUR F#*KING JOB.

On the irony circuit this week, we had the President of Mexico here wagging his finger at US and telling us our law was racist and discriminatory.
Then we had to watch as our weenie POTUS bowed and scraped to him and apologized (again) because of how misguided Americans are. Disgusting.

Now, lets take a look at an actual chat that President Calderon had while on CNN.

Blitzer: "So if people want to come from Guatemala or Honduras or El Salvador or Nicaragua, they want to just come into Mexico, can they just walk in?"

CALDERON: No! They need to fulfill, uh, a form. They need to establish their right name. We analyze if they have not a criminal precedence.

BLITZER: Do Mexican police go around asking for papers of people they suspect are illegal immigrants?

CALDERON: Of course! Of course!

BLITZER: If somebody sneaks in from Nicaragua or some other country in Central America through the southern border of Mexico and they wind up in Mexico, they can going get a job?

CALDERON: No, no, no.

BLITZER: They can work?

CALDERON: If somebody do that without permissions, we send � we send back them. (link here if you want to hear Rush on the subject)

Indeed.

Photo from a protest by some "good citizens" over the AZ law

Say, how about some FOOD? Ive been storing up these photos since I didn't have time to blog.

First, lets start with dinner at Bonefish Grill and the "Bang Bang Shrimp" which are irresistible. Ive got the recipe now but why make them when you can go there and get them without messing up the kitchen?

Next are the T-bones my butcher cut fresh for me. I grilled last weekend in the rain. I rubbed them with olive oil, sea salt, pepper and some fresh herbs and grilled them over hickory chips. Served with roasted yukon gold potatoes and the same herbs I used on the steaks.

How about this Tilapia? I seasoned it with a little cayenne, cilantro, salt, pepper, garlic and lime juice and put them on the grill. FANTASTIC and light, served with a big salad and some orzo- and a terrific Pinot Grigio. Note: even D ate fish!!!!

One of my most favorite things- Carrabbas Calamari... I have never had better and that's saying a lot since I order calamari EVERYWHERE I go.

And finally, the duck. We cannot forget the duck because we order it from Hudson Valley Farms about twice a month. I think D could live on ONLY this if Id let him. I made an interesting sauce I got from Emeril's website that had orange juice and Earl Gray tea in it that was pretty good! Not too strong to over power the fantastic duck.

HUMERUS

LOL.. Im going to use this as my header from now on for anything I think is funny.
I laugh every time I see it!

Signs we dont need.

A sign that finally, needs no explanation.

Now THAT is a bargain!

So I shouldn't laugh at this one but how can I help it? I've studied it over and over.
First, lets take a gander at how HAPPY the guy flying OUT of the car looks! Like a happy little butterfly taking wing! And what the hell are those claws on the end of his hands?
What I like even better though is the look of pure horror from the other driver. Does he know a giddy, man-sized, claw-fingered butterfly is about to land on or in his car? He is clearly, the only sane person in this picture.

MORE HUMERS

A few more that Ive collected over the last few weeks.

A mattress ad... he had me until the last sentence.

Dog training video/DVD .... FAIL. Note the teeth marks on the DVD.

And speaking of dogs... LOL

Alright.. I think Ive cleared my mind. Hopefully will have more time to blog now that Im a model citizen again.
Im off to whip up something for dinner and select a wine. D is playing sax and The Beast is snoring like a Harley Davidson on the couch.

CHEERS!!

BIG WOOOHOO!

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 02:30:55 GMT

Just found out that my friend Dark has once again joined the land of the EMPLOYED!
And with a very cool new job I might add! CONGRATS!!!

Now he can start blogging again... right?

So, to celebrate- I made TWO cosmos...one for me and one for... me (well, hes in Canada..he cant actually DRINK it)

Just finished dinner for one- grilled shrimp that I basted with garlic butter and Srirachi sauce and served over a little salsa that I made. Had to grill them on the kitchen grill since its STILL raining out! Blahh...

MMmmmmm..

A TOAST TO YOU Darkman!

Chock Full O Goodness

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 01:27:09 GMT

Yeah, I know- but Ive been really busy so I let stuff here pile up. I wont try to blog it all because it would likely take up all my storage space left on the server so, Ill pick and choose carefully.

In a shocking display of absolute predictability, Our snake oil salesman President says he is "open" to a "Value Added Tax." Of course, he has carefully changed is oft repeated talking point from "not raising any taxes" to not raising INCOME taxes.

In his April 10 Weekly Radio Address, Obama said: "And one thing we have not done is raise income taxes on families making less than $250,000. That's another promise we've kept."

In a speech on the evening of April 15, Obama repeated the truncated promise: "And one thing we haven't done is raise income taxes on families making less than $250,000 a year � another promise that we kept."
The two recent statements stand in stark contrast to Obama's original promise: "I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes."
Did anyone see the slight of hand here?

Nanny State for me, but not for thee

You might recall that, to the dismay of the young children bursting with enthusiasm about the fun and yummy tradition of the White House Easter egg hunt, this year's event became a "teachable moment" photo op, and therefore...did not include the distribution of teeth-rotting, obesity-inducing candy.

"Every goodie bag," according to one account, "was stuffed with pre-screened fruit, and the grounds were filled with exercise stations." One can only imagine the joy on young faces when they got their apple and their workout.

Meanwhile, U.S. regulators are planning a push to gradually cut the amount of salt Americans consume, saying less sodium would reduce deaths from hypertension and heart disease, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday. Lets keep in mind that Miz Obama leads some kind of Nanny program called War On Obesity so its interesting that the New York Post helpfully recorded what the Obamas had for dinner on their date night in Ashville, NC. The meal included BBQ ribs, greens, baked beans, corn pudding, mac & cheese and corn bread, guzzled back with icy cold sweet teas.
I dont give a damn what other people eat. My issue is that they DO care what I eat.

Scheming

Reported at the Republican Senate website:

Senate Democrats Gather In The Rules Committee To Eliminate The Filibuster, Which They Previously Called One "Of The Most Treasured And Cherished Traditions Of The United States Senate." Ace of Spades says its so the Dems can jam through their radical agenda in their last months of power. My money is on Ace.

What a difference a day makes

April 15th: Tax Day Tea Parties
Headlines- Right Wing Extremist Tea Partiers could be violent, racist, radical
News Coverage- Every channel
Real Tea Party Sign:

April 24th Sarah Palin Visits Oregon
Headlines- None
News Coverage- None
Real protest signs:

I especially love the "hate free zone" sign next to the "Hope she chokes" sign.

Things I need

Movies
Anyone up for a great movie trailer? Who knows whether this will have a decent story or not but WOW the effects look cool!

Home Depot

How about a little (lot) of food?

Home made pasta in a crushed tomato sauce with olive oil, red onion, basil, garlic and red pepper.

Chopped veggie salad with a fresh garlic vinaigrette. Note: D ate the lettuce only, left all the "colored" stuff in the bowl. *sigh*

My version of Mongolian Beef

Spicy lemon garlic shrimp

And of course.. one very tired dog, chillin with Daddy.

If you haven't seen this video.. you should.. and then SHARE it!

We Will Remember from Republican Governors Association on Vimeo.

And one last thing to keep you smiling... because... November isn't that far away. Palin fans will get it...

The Red Shirts

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 03:17:14 GMT

I love shopping at Target. I want to get that out of the way first. Its probably my favorite place to shop, but lately its been making me more than a little grumpy. It started slowly, with one or two people who worked there asking me if I needed help finding anything. Then it turned in to the monster it has become.

I like to imagine all the perky Target "associates" in their bright red shirts sitting in a staff meeting being told that they now have a helper quota. They each must ask at least a zillion shoppers if they need help- every day they are working.

Our target is pretty busy but they dont get a zillion shoppers a day so that means some of the associates must ask people more than once. This irritates me. At first I would make sure to not make eye contact so they wouldn't ask me. Then I began counting the asks, just to make sure I wasn't turning in to a grouchy old lady who should wear funny hats and knee socks with her skirts. When the ask count reached 26 one day, I had enough.

Maybe I am a grouchy old lady but I found myself avoiding anyone in a red shirt and if I saw one coming, Id turn my cart quickly and go the other direction. My point isnt that its wrong for them to ask. Its that they dont have to do it so often. Were the act to require nothing other than them speaking, Id be fine with it. But politeness requires ME to respond somehow, even if its just with an irritable nod. When your policy drags me kicking and screaming into it, that's where I draw the line, and I reached that line this week.

Tuesday, April 13: Ran in for three items. Celery, eggs and milk. Times I was asked if I needed help finding something: 26

Thursday, April 15: Cart with 12+ items. Times I was asked if I needed help finding something: 24.

This was my breaking point and I realized that if I didn't do something, Id go insane and that would certainly limit my shopping abilities. I pushed my cart over to the spice aisle and began "searching" visibly for an item. It only took about 6 seconds for two Red Shirts to approach me together. Ill call them Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb. They said almost in unison: May we help you find something? I smiled (reeling them in like a spider).

"Why yes, you can I hope! Im looking for Fleegle powder, or Fleegle salt if you dont have the powder." They looked at each other solemnly and then began in earnest to scour the spice shelves. One stood up and said, "How do you spell it? With an F?"
I nodded. Then the female Red shirt said helpfully, "Our spices are in alphabetical order so it should be easy to find. Unless of course someone placed it in the "P" section instead of F."
My brain churned to process this but I could hear the cogs and springs grinding in my head as I tried to work that one out. Perhaps she thought that Fleegle was spelled with a PH? I had to stop pondering this before I melted down and smoke poured out my ears.

This is when they decided to call in the big guns using their little walkie talkies. Less than 3 minutes later, said big gun appears. He is introduced to me as "THE SENIOR ZONE MANAGER...." (and you must say that in a deep booming voice please...).
He shook my hand and informed me that he was indeed the SENIOR ZONE MANAGER, in charge of aisles 4-7 and sometimes the aisles that carry all the paper products. I nodded respectfully, realizing we were in the presence of someone who could surely help.

The young lady told him we were seeking Fleegle powder and the guy next to her added in a soft voice, "Or Fleegle salt.. if we dont have the powder." THE SENIOR ZONE MANAGER stood stroking his chin thoughtfully while the associates watched him for some sort of epiphany. This is where I thought I had likely been discovered as a fraud and the gig would be up. After a moment or two of stroking, the SENIOR ZONE MANAGER said, "Have you ever purchased Fleegle product here before?"

The Tweedles heads bounced from Zone Man to me, back and forth like ping pong balls. I said calmly, "Of course I have.. dozens of times, and its always right here next to the Fennel seeds." He nodded sagely again. By this time we had drawn the attention of two more Red Shirts and a small crowd had formed.

I decided I hadn't been discovered after all and volunteered: "Price Chopper down the street carries it in raw form in their produce section as well as in the spice aisle."
The very mention of their competitor caused the Red Shirts to begin shifting uneasily in their khakis and fiddling with their plastic name tags.
The SENIOR ZONE MANAGER said, "Have you checked our produce section?" and all the associates looked at him as if he had just delivered the Gettysburg address. (I must point out that I almost lost it here and stifled a serious, hard core giggle) I responded back, "I've checked and you dont have it."

Now we were clearly in serious times, and serious times call for serious measures. Zone man got on his walkie and called for someone. While we waited, several associates again began to industriously scan the shelves for Fleegle.

The entity that appeared next was close to a Pope as I will ever come. He was introduced as "Acting District Manager, in Charge of Condiments and Spices (The ADMCCS)" and I fully expected the associates to kneel or at least bow.

While the SENIOR ZONE MANAGER carefully explained in detail our conundrum, including the part about Price Chopper carrying several types of Fleegle, I stood patiently. After a few moments, The Target Pope spoke quietly, "I have never heard of Fleegle..." and I knew I was busted.

Then he continued on, "But.. that does not mean it doesn't exist, or that we dont carry it."
I swear to you, at least three associates nodded perkily at that last bit.

"Here is what we will do." The "Zone Team" gathered around as if in the final huddle of the Super Bowl and he gave instructions. "You two, go to the ethnic aisle.. search there. You, check the produce rosters. You, see if the deli (???) might have it. And you, (pointing to the SENIOR ZONE MANAGER), go to the back and check all of our shipment logs this week to see if we simply forgot to put it out."

There were ahhhhs and nods all around and they scampered off to be of service. The Acting District Manager in Charge of Condiments and Spices (ADMCCS) informed me that he would go up to the office and review his purchasing requisitions to see if they had it and if not, he promised they would most definitely procure some and I could expect it no later than next Thursday.

Well, I should EXPECT so, thank you very much.

I do so love a store that gives good service! Of course, as soon as he turned the corner away from me, I grabbed my cart and sped to the checkout to get out of there as quickly as possible, before anyone (if anyone) figured out they had been had.

Saturday, April 17th: Cart with 12 items. Number of times Red Shirts asked me if I needed any help finding things: 0.

Dinner...
Was Spin Pizza because it was beautiful out tonight and we sat out their patio and gobbled gourmet pizza and guzzled wine like the beasts that we are.
Im not sure if anyone around here does it better than Spin if you like a pizza made entirely for you with just the things you like on it... and.. did I mention, GOOD WINE???
The temperature out tonight was a fabulous 68 degrees with no humidity which is rare for KC. We came home and watched Iron Chef and then went to our own patio and embraced the deepening night. I soaked in the bubbly hot tub with Bach on the speakers. Bailey chased the early crop of crickets and other various bugs and D sat in his chair, surveying his green lawn, sipping his good coffee and smiled to himself like a cat who has a secret.

This week... I just KNOW I shall have an interview for a position that will not only pay me what Im worth, but actually interest and inspire me. How can an evening this amazing not lead to something just perfect?

Its time to drag The Beast (and her bunny) to bed. She refuses to go anywhere without him.

Tomorrow.. we live to fight (and win?) another day!

Motives

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 01:06:59 GMT

Lately I've been arguing with people on political discussion boards about why Obama and team are doing what they are doing. "Doing" includes taking over portions of our financial industry, auto industry, school loan industry and health care- just as a start. There are people who claim he is doing it for money- because we are broke as a country and he thinks he can add money to our coffers by taking over these industries. There are others who are so naive they believe he's doing it for purely altruistic purposes because he truly cares for us as a nation and as a people. I have read other arguments but they were as weak as the previous ones. The fact of the matter is, he is doing it for one reason: control.
Why would our president want control? Why would he seek to grow the government at an almost breakneck speed? The answer perhaps lies within his history and who he is as a person.

First, lets think back on who Obama is as a person, shall we?

Obama grew up among Communists, Marxists and Socialists. Obama's father� was a big fan of, and wrote extensively about socialism � He wrote a paper called "Problems With Our Socialism" �that advocates 100% taxation of the rich, communal ownership of land and the forced confiscation of privately controlled land.
Obama's grandparents moved to Mercer Island specifically so their daughter, Obama's mother, could attend Mercer Island school. At that time, the chairman of the Mercer Island School board was John Stenhouse, a noted communist. Stenhouse was not the only communist connected to that school.

They say a man is known by the company he keeps, unless its Barack Obama of course

Obama was close friends with William Ayersand his wife Bernadine Dohrn who were active in the terrorist organization Weather Underground. Both are admitted communists and have many ties to Obama. His fundraiser to launch Obama's Senate campaign was held at the home of Ayers and Dohrn. Ayers is famous of course for writing the communist manifesto- Prairie Fire, in which he writes: "We need a revolutionary communist party in order to lead the struggle, seize power and build the new society."

Obama was hand picked by Communist Party leader Alice Palmer to succeed her in the Illinois State Senate. Palmer was on the executive board of the US Peace Council, identified by the FBI as a front organization for the Communist Party USA. �Mark Solomon of the Committees for Democracy and Socialism (CCDS), who also served as the former national chairperson for the US Peace Council declared: "The most important element in the rise of Barack Obama is that his candidacy is built upon a potentially powerful new movement capable of forging a progressive majority in the nations politics:

One of Obama's key mentors was Frank Marshall Davis, another member of the Communist Party USA. Since Obama's father had abandoned him, Obama's white grandfather selected Davis, a black man, to be Obama's role model and surrogate father. This relationship was disclosed by Professor Gerald Horne, a contributing editor of the Communist Party journal Political Affairs. The Commission on Subversive Activities of the Territory of Hawaii labeled Davis "a bitter opponent of capitalism." Frank mentored Obama during his high school years.

Then there was John L. McKnight� who wrote the letter of recommendation for Obama to get into Harvard. While Obama worked at the Gamaliel Foundation (McKnight was on the board), he was mentored by McKnight and schooled in the principles of radical Saul Alinsky. Apparently, McKnight saw much promise in the budding politician and a way to advance Alinsky's radical socialist agenda into the highest levels of government.

As recently as 1996, Obama was an active member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) where he attended a town meeting with the DSA in Chicago to discuss redistribution of jobs and wages.
Obama was also endorsed by the Communist Party USA (CPUSA).

So we know by his formative years, right up through his early political career, he chose to surround himself with leftist radicals. When you consider the goals of groups like socialists and communists, you have to understand what they are all about. Again, its control.

Ok, so what's wrong with Socialism..

Socialism is a destructive, divisive economic and political philosophy. It is the state control of production and distribution of wealth in accordance with the idea that, "from each his ability, to each his need", a philosophy by Karl Marx. Real freedom requires both social and economic freedom. Socialism is economic force. You are forced to work partly for your neighbor without just or fair compensation. Those that get ahead are punished with a fine or as we call it, a "tax." Its a way to take control away from people. Our constitution was built on the principles of LIMITED government and limited government is the opposite of Socialism.

A favorite blogger of mine once wrote: "...socialism doesn't work. It works against the basic strengths of human beings. Because of this it will always fail. But it will be tried, over and over again, because it indulges our weakness for wanting to feel good about ourselves by taking care of others�with as little personal effort as possible."

Lets get back to control

When the government "bailed out" the auto industry, there was a caveat- and that was they had to produce the "right" kind of automobiles, not the ones that are popular. In this case, the right ones are "green" cars- a way to control the outputs to the environment. If the government is paying for something, they of course have a say in how things are run. Control for the "good of our environment you see.

When they bailed out the banking/finance industries, again- they determined pay and bonuses. After all, shouldn't someone who has a majority stake in something get to say how the money is spent? Those pay and bonus decisions weren't made based on the obligations of the employment contracts anymore, the decisions were made by the government and contracts be damned. Control over profits by those greedy corporations and those who run them. Its simply unfair- "unsocial."

Anyone see a pattern here?

Now the government runs our health care. Using the same logic (why would it change?) we can see where this is going. In order to control costs, the government will simply have to have a say in things like who gets what care and when, its called rationing and its something that cant be avoided. When there is only so much of X and Y amount of people need it, X must be limited in some form.

Profits of course must be limited- its �not fair when one company makes a bundle and another doesn't. What about those greedy insurance companies? Outrageous profits couldn't be allowed. What happens then? Providers begin going out of business, either because they cant compete or because there is no longer any reason to when there are no profits. Why should some doctors make a fortune and others not? In an "ideal", socialistic society, physicians wouldn't be in the business to make money, but purely to take care of citizens. What happens then? The best doctors go away. What's left? Not enough doctors (at least for most of us) which leads us back to the rationing discussion. By design, I suspect, this leads us into the single payer, government controlled solution. There's that word again.

Lets take it a bit further. In order to control costs- why wouldn't the government have to look at things that make us unhealthy? Its already started with the discussions of "sin taxes" that would tax things like soda or sweets or salty foods. We already know that alcohol and cigarettes are taxed at a very high rate.
To cut costs, why shouldn't the government simply eliminate our choices to make unhealthy (thus, costly) decisions? Why shouldn't the government proclaim that each of us must spend a certain amount of time exercising? It makes us healthier, (reducing costs) doesn't it?

This sounds rather dramatic but I don't think it is really. When we look at who we elected as president it should be no surprise at all what direction he is taking this country in. The information about him was publicly available and it appears he has at least some support from a few peers in our government as well as some (minor) support from the people. The current administration, when faced with challenge or opportunity, always chooses to grow the state and we are seeing it grow, every single day. With that growth, comes control- more and more of it, and with that- less and less freedom. Remember, nothing is free and to enjoy the "fruits" of socialism, �one must pay with freedom.

Things that happen to me.

Sat, 03 Apr 2010 23:53:45 GMT

Dear SuperTextbooks-
I ordered a book from you over a week ago and it still hasn't arrived. Please let me know when to expect it as I need it for a test I'm scheduled to take.
Book name: Analyzing Politics
ISBN Number: 0495501123 / 9780495501121
Author: Grigsby
Order Number: 45873

Thanks, A. F.

Dear Mrs. F.
Thank you for contacting us. We regret the inconvenience this has caused you.
Please email me the name of the book, the ISBN number and the order number and we will track the shipment. Your business is important to us!

Best,
Barb
SuperTextbooks- TextBooks for ALL!

Dear SuperTextbooks-
I included all the information in my previous note to you. Please advise.
A. F.

Dear Mrs. F.
Thank you for contacting us. We regret the inconvenience this has caused you.
Although the book was shipped 10 days ago, it was shipped via USPS Printed Matter, which is a method that cannot be traced. Further, this shipping method can take up to three weeks to arrive. Our apologies that this wasn't made more clear on the website. We appreciate your business!

Best,
Barb
SuperTextbooks- TextBooks for ALL!

Dear SuperTextbooks-
It has now been over two weeks since I ordered the book and it still has not arrived. I have since ordered it from another vendor, as I need the text to prepare for a class and test. I recognize that USPS is a poorly run, nearly broke, sucking government black hole, but I did not expect them to deliver my book via pack mule from Chicago. You are 100% correct that your website doesn't make it clear that your customers will order and pay for items they will never see. Of course, that would make it difficult to keep customers, wouldn't it? How much longer before I can get a refund?
A. F.

Dear Mrs. F.
Thank you for contacting us. We regret the inconvenience this has caused you. As I stated previously, it can take up to three weeks to complete a shipment.
While you are waiting, you might take a look at our recently discounted "Spring Book Sale" helpfully located on the tab marked "Sale!" of our website.

Best,
Barb
SuperTextbooks- TextBooks for ALL!

Dear Barb- (may I call you that?)
Lets be frank with each other since we seem to have developed a bit of a relationship after all these weeks. The book is LOST. Its gone Barb. You know it and I know it. All I'm asking for is my $65 back. Its been over three weeks now Barb, write it off. Life must go on for both of us.
I'm beginning to suspect that you aren't in fact, the "best Barb" as per your signature line.

A. F.

Dear Mrs. F.
Thank you for contacting us. We regret the inconvenience this has caused you. After carefully examining our shipping policy, it states that shipments can take up to 21 days, excluding weekends and holidays. I am sure you can appreciate this policy.
Please contact us again if we can be of any service.
Best,
Barb
SuperTextbooks- TextBooks for ALL!

Barb-
Perhaps a disclaimer on your signature line that says something like: "Textbooks for ALL- except you" is in order? It has now been 25 days (excluding weekends and holidays) since I ordered the book from you. Since that time, I have received the book from another vendor, taken the class, successfully passed the test using the book and finally, shipped the book back to the vendor to be re-sold. And guess what, I still don't have your book. This relationship is clearly over and I want my money back.
Best,
A. F.

Dear Mrs. F.
Thank you for contacting us. We regret the inconvenience this has caused you. Congratulations on your course achievement! Please email me the name of the book, the ISBN number and the order number and we will track the shipment.
Your business is important to us!

Best,
Karen
SuperTextbooks- TextBooks for ALL!

Just Food!

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 03:15:13 GMT

Too tired to blog but have some FOODGOODNESS to share..

Sunday night, made a special dinner of lobster mac and cheese and a beef tenderloin roast that I cut into medallions. I made a bordelaise sauce out of red wine, beef stock, shallots, carrots, bacon and fresh herbs but forgot to take a pic of it on the meat.
The mac and cheese was Fontina, English cheddar, smoked Gouda and a little Gruyere cheese with white wine, garlic, nutmeg and salt/pepper.
Dinner served with Toad Hollow Chardonnay.

Anyone hungry?

Sauteing the lobster tails cut into big chunks...

Hey Angie P... your favorite here!!

The bordelaise sauce simmering with bacon, stock, bay leaves and carrots....

Finished mac and cheese....look at those TASTY lobster chunks! LOL

And the final of the meal.. (sans the bordelaise sauce that I forgot to put on the tenderloin before I snapped the photo. Of course D was not ABOUT to give me back his plate to let me re-photograph it.
*sigh*

I must point out that there was also a huge green salad with fresh balsamic dressing and some steamed snow peas... none of which D wanted in the picture. The salad, he ate. The snow peas, he moved around on his plate for fear he would get "snow pea juice" on his beef.

And tonight.. Monday night dinner thanks to my fabulous butcher was Steak and Frites. If there isn't a National Butchers Appreciation Day, there should be.
He not only hand cut that beef tenderloin roast for me but also these center cut rib-eye steaks wrapped in bacon that I tossed on the grill over some apple and hickory wood chips. Served with hand cut truffled fries and paired with a really nice Merlot.

MMMMMMMM...
Not a bad night.

Nite everyone!

A POX on both their houses

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 06:37:14 GMT

I watched it all day, glued to the TV even though I knew the outcome. Why do I do this to myself?

NO big surprise but still incredibly disappointing... the health care monstrosity passed tonight and is on its way to becoming the law of the land. So now we get to start paying immediately for the pork and backroom deals that Obama made with the minute benefits coming not for three or more years.
This is the ugliest, scotch-taped together, filthy piece of steaming garbage to ever come out of this great country and everyone knows it including Queen Nancy. A takeover of almost 20% of the nations economy, all done WITHOUT the approval of its people.
The few decent ideas in the bill could have been done in 4 pages. Period. Instead it will cost us billions more than it should and cause these things as just a start:

Taxes to go up
Quality of care to go down
Rationing
Loss of top doctors
Loss of jobs and medium as small businesses go under
Longer wait times
More bureaucracy
Massive IRS expansion

How awesome is that? Well done Obama. You and your radical friends must be very proud. Now its on to the rest of the economy.
Did you hear the IRS will be in charge of enforcement of this new unfunded mandate? Yep.. they will be hiring 15k new "enforcers" to make sure that not only are you buying the required insurance but.. here is the catch...

"Approved by the government insurance".... does that give anyone an idea of where this is going?
So, Obama has "CREATED" 15k new jobs! Hurrrayyyy! Something to take a peek at while you are fired up.

Hmmm.. wonder what this means? Anyone remember history 101 and what happens when the majority of a country is a government employee?

Just sayin...

Also.. since Bart (Chump) Stupak sold what little morals and values he had to the devil, please take a look at this guy: DAN BENISHEK who just became the most popular candidate in the country. I joined his page and plan to donate!

And finally, if you think this disaster stops here, think again. If this doesnt give you heartburn and nightmares, nothing will. Obama said today... "on to the next big thing..."

Indeed.

As usual, Ramirez gets it right here:

What we can do now is fight at the state level. At least 36 states have already filed against the legallity of this unfunded mandate. Kansas is one of them. And, we have until November to get out and work for ANYONE who did not vote for this disgrace and take back our government. Its time to step up folks!

Now I must move on before I lose my FABULOUS dinner!

Lots of foodstuff to catch up on!

First, Aunt Darleens recipe for roasted Turkey breast: rubbed in Dijon mustard, soy sauce, lemon and herbs. WOW is it good!!

Then, Saturday night's dinner while D was out playing sax- Hunan beef in a really spicy sauce! Paired with a terrific Spanish red wine and served with a little steamed rice. Note the "green items" in the dish which are broccoli. Hubby wont allow anything green on his plate (unless its drowning in dressing or covered in cheese) so I make this when hes away. I used 2 extra hot Thai chilies which made it just right!

Then... since tomorrow is our THIRTEEN YEAR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!!!!!
I made his most favorite - special ordered Hudson Valley Farms duck breast. I tried a new recipe tonight which was really, really good!
Pan seared the duck breasts after seasoning well, then sauteed garlic and shallots in the duck fat. Then added a little orange juice and ...... EARL GRAY tea leaves! (I know, never heard of it before!) Reduced that down and then added chicken stock and reduced again. At the end, swirled in some cubes of butter to thicken and added fresh herbs. Finished the duck in the oven until med/rare and let rest for 10 minutes while finishing the sauce.
UNBELIEVABLE!!! Served with Kendall Jackson Chardonnay and was as good as and even better than most restaurants where we have ever had duck! WOW.
Here are the "in the making" photos:

Ill wait while you wipe off the DROOL...

Yeah. I know.

Other stuffage

Ive missed this blog but last week I was battling a nasty sinus infection and felt like crap with no energy. It didnt help that our weather was so crazy. We had one day of 57 degree fabulous almost-Spring weather and the next day it snowed 6". Blahhhh...

Something that was sent to me that I shared on Facebook earlier this week that really needs no further comment.

And this which I find HILARIOUS even though there are still a few decent Democrats out there..

And finally because I needed even more to give me nightmares tonight there is this:

Lets hope what they say about Vegas is right.

Ive been robbed!

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 21:09:33 GMT

Of .50 that is... and I want to know who I can write a letter of complaint to.
The other night D and I were out at a local pizza joint. In the entry way there was a bank of gumball machines and one of them caught my eye. It touted not gum but DISGUISES!! The colorful picture on the front said "Be a Master of Disguises" and showed the several pieces that were available including a fake mustache, tiny beard, side burns, bushy eyebrows and a fake mole. The sign demonstrated all the different looks you could achieve by using this awesome stuff and I knew I had to own it for myself.

(this isnt the exact sign but you get the idea..)

We were seated and ordered pizza but I couldn't keep my mind off the disguise kit. I imagined myself wearing it to grocery shop... perhaps I would get better cuts of meat from the butcher when he didnt know it was me? Might I be able to read the trashy tabloids without fear of running in to someone I knew? The deal was sealed however when while we were eating our pizza, the boy from the booth behind us peeked around the corner and amazingly.. he was WEARING ALL THOSE PIECES! I was sold.
I insisted D produce the needed .50 immediately and I rushed to the front to purchase my disguise kit. Out popped a little plastic container which was somewhat concerning to me because it was so small. You can imagine my surprise and disdain when I opened it.

I think I shall sue for false advertising! No where (except maybe in teeny tiny fine print at the very bottom of the sign) did it say ANYTHING about each piece being sold separately! What the HELL! Not only that, but I ended up with the WORST piece, the dumb fake mole! No mustache, no beard... two TINY LITTLE STICK ON DOTS.
DOTS.
DOTS is what I got. DOTS.
I give them credit for hiring the little boy to parade around the restaurant hawking their rip off disguise kit but knowing he was in cahoots with them made me even more angry. D practically had to drag me out of the pizza shop before I made a scene.
This isn't just false or misleading advertising.. its more than that! Its a SYMBOL OF ALL THAT IS WRONG WITH THE WORLD. Injustice. Unfairness. SHAM. I did look up the company whose name was printed on the package, thinking to make a phone call and of course, they are in China, as the package stated. I am fairly confident that they would have no interest in a call from me. I am keeping the little plastic egg on my desk WITH the moles in it as a stark reminder.

Food

On to happier subjects.
Pork chops grilled over apple and cherry wood and rubbed with fresh herbs. OUTSTANDING! Served with baked potatoes and a big salad, paired with Angeline Chardonnay. Not a bad way to spend last Thursday night.

The WORLDS best reward poster

Just one more reason why you should be riding the subway....

Things I need

Interesting the price- $20.12 but at least it comes with an "adjustable elastic band" to keep it in place. What is even more interesting is some of the other "art" this person makes and sells.

Politics

So not much going on other than the ongoing utter destruction of our great country by Team Obama.

The CBO came out yesterday with some sobering news that you wont hear anywhere but maybe Fox news.
"President Barack Obama's budget will lead to deficits averaging nearly one TRILLION dollars over the next decade." This while Obamessia URGES the rest of us to show restraint and save our pennies.

Obama and Harry Reid were both giddy upon hearing the news that unemployment held steady at 9.7% with a 16.8% real unemployment rate and climbing.

The LA Times headline reads: Obama administration encouraged by steady unemployment rate.
Meanwhile Harry Reid stood on the Senate floor and crowed that "Today is a big day in America... ONLY 36,000 people lost their jobs." We can only hope that come November, he is ONE of them.

Update: Harry returned the the Senate floor later and said his comments were "mischaracterized" by those seeking to score political points. huh.

We were subjected to first a silly waste of political theater with Obambis "Health Care Summit" where he attempted to show that he was willing to give the Republicans a chance to jump on his sinking ship. Then we got the news conference where he was surrounded by "props" of "health care professionals" in white coats smiling and nodding and clapping as he told everyone what we already know, and that is he will use reconciliation to cram this big pile of crap down the throats of Americans.

And finally,

Ace of Spades gives us the current run down of Fail and Impotence (but who's keeping track...)

(1) Card Check? [FAIL]
(2) Foreign Relations (UK - Prime Minister Edition)? [FAIL]
(3) Foreign Relations (UK - Queen Edition)? [FAIL]
(4) Close Guantanamo Bay in First Year? [FAIL]
(5) Transparency? [FAIL]
(6) Lobbyist Ban in Administration? [FAIL]
(7) Foreign Relations (Israel)? [FAIL]
(8 ) Cap & Tax? [FAIL]
(9) Negotiate ObamaCare in Public on C-SPAN? [FAIL]
(10) Economic recovery? [FAIL]
(11) Bowling? [FAIL]
(12) Outreach to the Islamic World? [FAIL]
(13) Van Jones? [FAIL]
(14) Civilian trials for terrorists? [FAIL]
(15) ObamaCare? [IMPOTENT]
(16) DADT Repeal? [IMPOTENT]
(17) Amnesty? [IMPOTENT]

Thats all I got. Happy Sunday!